Blake's Christmas performance

Thought the extended family would enjoy seeing Blake sing one of the songs he sang in his preschool Christmas performance. He did such a great job singing and doing the motions :-) Brent and I commented on how amazing that feeling is you get deep in your chest when you see your child up on stage singing like this. These are the moments that keep me pushing myself to be the best mom I can be! Thank you Lord for our sweet Blake!

ps..sorry for the video quality, Blake is in the front row with the gray and red striped sweater :-)

Allison turning 2

I cannot believe it but our baby turns 2 on Friday. These first two years have just flown by and everyday she is becoming more of a little girl. We decided this year with all the craziness to celebrate Allison's birthday a little earlier with her cousin Megan. Megan turned 3 on Dec. 16th and with Allison turning 2 on the 21st we thought since they are so little and all the same people would be invited, we would do a combined family party. So on Sat. the 15th we got everyone together and had a Elmo & Zoe birthday party for the two girls. All the cousins had a blast playing together and the girls seemed to have a great time. When it was time to do cake, we took turns with singing and blowing out the candles. This was the only time I think I caught of glimpse from both girls of uncertainty about what was going on for "my" birthday :-) We won't make a habit of making them sharing parties but it was fun for this year. Here are the sweet pictures from the night!

Allison's 2 year old picture

Best friends Elmo & Zoe birthday party!

Bobble makes the best cakes

Daddy helping Alli open presents

Thank you Nana for the pots & pans

Alli's kitchen! She knew instantly what it was from the picture...so funny!

The princess couch was a big hit!

Happy 2nd Birthday Allison!

Happy 3rd Birthday Megan!

Yummy cake!!!

Unwilling to let go of her balloon even to brush her teeth!

Decking the halls!

Christmas is fast approaching but for some reason it is taking us a little longer to decorate. We have been slowly decorating over the past 2 weeks. Here are some photos of the festivities :-)

Setting up the tree

Alli hanging her ornaments

Our kids!

Setting up the train!

Making and decorating Christmas cookies!

Go Bobble!

A week ago on Sunday, my dad ran and finished his 9th marathon!!! It was the Norfolk Freedom Marathon and to all of our surprise he finished 2nd in his age group. YAY!!! My dad claims this is his last marathon, 9 for his 9 grandchildren, so it was bittersweet to watch him. Thankfully this won't be the last time we cheer him on because he now has moved on to competing in triathlons :-) It is so amazing to me that my dad can have so much drive and determination to push himself more every year. It is an inspiration to me and hopefully will be to our kids which is why I really wanted to take them to see their Bobble run. I want them to learn the importance of making goals and reaching for them. The kids had a blast yelling for Bobble each time we saw him and we are so proud of his huge accomplishment!

Holding the sign we made for Bobble!



Bobble's classic running pose

He even stopped during the race for a picture!

Wearing his custom Bobble 9 shirt to finish out strong!

Try not to smile

Just two fun fall pictures of the kids! Go ahead and try not to smile. It can't be done :-)

Just treats for us

We had so much fun trick or treating this year just watching the kids! Blake really got the idea of it and was running ahead of us all night trying to visit as many houses as possible. Allison was still trying to figure it out. It was hilarious to watch her because after every house she would look in her bag excitedly, pull out her candy and show us all with a look of amazement that people actually just handed this stuff out! It was such a fun night. I am so thankful for these sweet kids :-)

Our Cubs player and our fighting Irish Cheerleader!

Our family

Daddy was very supportive of the costume choices this year! Go Cubs! Go Irish!

One happy boy with lots of candy!!!

Nana & Grandpa Visit

We were so blessed to have Brent's grandparents come visit for a couple weeks this month. It is always a fun and special time when Nana and Grandpa are here! I think they are some of the kids favorite playmates :-) 

Nana coloring with Allison

Blake and Allison listening to Nana's stories

This girl loves her "gampa"

Nana & Grandpa with the 4 great grandkids

We love you Nana & Grandpa!!!

Church Picnic

Last Sunday we had our annual church picnic after services. Everyone brings their own chairs and we all have lunch out on the front lawn. It was a beautiful day with good food and great friends. We are so blessed to be part of our church!

Having lunch...Blake was not happy because we told him that he had to eat lunch before dessert!

Enjoying cotton-candy...now he is happy!

Alli's first cotton-candy!

Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year again! We went to the pumpkin patch last Friday with Blake's preschool class. It was a cool morning perfect fall weather. Here are some shots from the day!

Petting the donkeys

Alli liked petting the goats

Enjoying a hayride with buddies from school

Blake found the perfect one!

Alli was so proud of herself for picking one out too!

Happy Fall!!!

Updating kids pics

As many of you know, Brent made special cut outs for each of the kids nurseries when they were born. These wooden cut outs were also specifically chosen as the consistant item we would use to measure the kids as they grow. It is so fun to see how much they have grown in 6 months and I hope it is something they will love having in the future :-) Here are the most recent pics!

Blake 4 1/2 years old

Allison 21 months

Eventful trip to the zoo

I decided to take the kids to the zoo this morning to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was around 70 degrees, overcast with a nice breeze, a perfect day. Well, the animals must have thought so to because they were out if full force enjoying their day. Just check out this video of the tiger wanting to "play" with the visiting children. I am very thankful for strong glass!!!

 

 

Here are some other pictures from our morning!